Meet Andrés Cantor, the man whose breathtaking goal calls capture the ‘spirit’ of soccer. This article was originally published by The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/andres-cantor/world-cup-2018_b_13584518.html) and is reprinted with permission.
Andrés Cantor has a knack for making us better people. It’s not something you can measure. It’s more of a feeling. A connection. It’s as though when you meet somebody, the light in their eyes changes. For the first time, you understand their passion and drive. Their joy.
Cantor, a former professional footballer, spent two of the most important years of his life playing football. But on those two years he was also making an impact on another sphere of life – the lives of the people he met. And he’s not done yet.
If you think football was all about a big goal, big performance, big celebration, you’re wrong. If you think soccer is all about winning, you’re wrong. Andrés Cantor is an important example that says that’s not the way it happens at all.
And he’s one of the most important figures in all of sports.
When I heard that a man who played as a professional football player, who had been on the same pitch as the likes of Pelé and Drogba, was taking action to use his football knowledge to help young people – I was very, very happy. This had been my dream for a long time, and I knew Andrés was the man for the job.
And how would he do it?
The basic strategy is to find the people who have the potential to grow up to be great soccer players, and give them a game that they can play.
He’s worked with young players in the UK, in France and Colombia, in Mexico, in Australia and in Spain.
It’s part of the reason why he’s considered to be the most valuable figure in international sports. When someone like him leaves his legacy, it
